


-∇Φ

by ExtraPenguin



Series: Weird Chatty Mazei [1]
Category: The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison
Genre: Gen, Hard Science Fantasy, Magic, Magic and Science, Science, Worldbuilding, history of science
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-06
Updated: 2016-02-06
Packaged: 2018-05-18 14:57:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5932459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExtraPenguin/pseuds/ExtraPenguin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some mazei invent electricity, propose an application to the Corazhas, and then explain its working to Cala and Maia.<br/>My science is hard for you, readers.</p><p>(See author's note at the beginning for additional minor warning.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	-∇Φ

**Author's Note:**

> (There is a mention of an offscreen character being impregnated by her father.)
> 
> So, here is my fic of Science! and Magic! for you. Thanks to dragonsigma and Serenade/velvet for betaing. Any remaining errors are mine.
> 
> -∇Φ is pronounced "minus gradient of Phi" and is the formula for an electric field.
> 
> Join us in the chatroom: http://www.slashnet.org/webclient/thegoblinemperor

Maia settled into his chair in the Corazhas. Assorted secretaries were still shuffling papers, so he had a moment to gaze at the three guests standing at the far wall, accompanied by Sehalis Adremaza.

On the left was a short man, bespectacled, and clearly of pure elven ancestry, with milkweed hair and snow-pale skin. He looked terrified; he was doing a bad job of keeping his ears up.

In the middle, taller, was a mazo in a blue robe modified to include additional pockets. Her pale skin had an odd blue tinge, and her hair was a nearly midnight blue-black. Beshelar would not have been ashamed to adopt her confident stance. She'd forgone the typical maza's queue for a severe knot unmarred by flyaways.

Lastly, a maza in the typical threadbare robe, who might have a small amount of goblin in his blood by his slightly greyish skin. He, too, wore spectacles and with them a distant smile.

The Witness for the Universities stood up and opened the meeting. “Today, we have before us a proposal that could much improve life in the Elflands. The University of Cetho has cooperated with the Athmaz'are, and today we are to hear of the fruits of that labor. From the University, we have Theret Brinthalar.”

Brinthalar shakily stepped forward and gave a jerky bow. “Serenity.” He was trying very hard not to fidget.

Sehalis Adremaza spoke next. “From the Athmaz'are, we have had two dachenmazei collaborate with Brinthalar. Drannu Athmaza-”

The mazo stepped forward and gave a confident, if unpolished, bow. “Serenity.” She had high cheekbones and a determined set of face. Her sibilants were a touch hissy.

“-and Clairis Athmaza.”

The maza took a step forward and bowed smoothly. “Serenity.” Now Maia could see his yellow-green eyes. Definitely part-goblin.

Drannu glanced at her companions, then began speaking. “We have discovered that power can be transferred via copper wire covered in rubber that has been treated with sulfur. Whereas previously one would have had to build a steam-pipe to power anything with a steam engine, our method provides for the transfer of power over much longer distances – we have succeeded in a nearly lossless wire of roughly three times the length of the longest viable steam-pipe.”

The Witness for the Prelacy spoke up. “How, precisely, does your wire work? Does copper act like steam?”

This time, it was Clairis who spoke. “We are capable of creating devices which transfer the power of steam into the power of wobbling charged particles within the copper. This wobbling instantly perpetuates along the wire, and at the other end, it can be used to drive a motor, heat water, or many other things, more than steam can do by itself.” His voice was deep and even.

The Witness for the Athmaz'are inquired after a demonstration in a manner that clearly revealed that he knew that a working demonstration was available.

Brinthalar and Clairis dragged from a corner a length of black wire, to the end of which a peculiar contraption had been attached. They gave the free end of the wire to Drannu and Clairis held up the other end of the wire. The contraption was some sort of cylinder, with a long rod attached to a short rod coming out of the cylinder's end. A piece of paper was attached to one end of the long rod. Drannu pulled back her hand in preparation for a spell, then jerked.

“Cala, please promise not to be overly concerned by the spell?” she asked.

Cala's brows knit. “What spell will you be performing?”

“It is at heart a revethmaz, though modified.” Drannu did not have any difficulty meeting Cala's gaze and her ears were high and steady. “We do not think that it would kill, for in our testing, we have not managed to kill even spiders or mice with the spell.” Her ears perked up slightly. “We could explain the revethmaz's working to you afterwards.”

“Please do,” Cala agreed. “You may proceed, though we'd rather you didn't point it towards His Serenity.” Maia could feel Beshelar shift minutely.

Drannu nodded, then positioned herself so that her back was to Maia. He understood Cala's concern, but would have liked to see what the mazo was doing.

Drannu flicked her wrist, and then there was a crackle and a sharp scent of ozone, and the contraption at the other end was _spinning_. Cala jerked, then stared at Drannu wide-eyed.

Maia understood the piece of paper: it made the spinning much clearer to see from afar. It flapped in a most delightful fashion, and Maia could imagine mechanical fans. Surely this would produce many marvels in time, perhaps even one comparable to the Wisdom Bridge.

Drannu closed her hand and brought it back to her side. The contraption stopped spinning. The scent of ozone began to recede from the room.

The Corazhas burst into argument.

 

Afterwards, Maia had the dachenmazei and the University scholar accompany him for a light luncheon. Brinthalar was still trying not to faint, Clairis was looking unflappable, and Drannu seemed to be intently memorizing every nook and cranny. Isheian brought them a samovar full of tea and then exited.

“I see thy studies have borne fruit, revethmazo,” Cala said dryly.

Drannu's ears and mouth twitched. “Go fuck thyself with a cactus.” She sounded surprisingly fond. Beshelar emitted a choking sound.

“Wouldst thou like to watch?” Cala asked. He twitched his ears. “Though thou didst promise to tell me of thy findings, so perhaps we should deal with that first.”

Drannu pulled out some papers from her pockets and slid them over to Cala. “The revethmaz suspends movement of, ah, _electrically charged_ particles. The particles are so-called due to their paths being altered in electric fields. I suspect that this motion of electrically charged particles is important to the functioning of the human body. Yes, Neian has been told, as have many scholar-physicians from the University.”

Cala hummed, then pocketed the offered papers at a nod from Drannu. “And the spell thou used?”

Drannu shrugged. “A simple alteration to cause _movement_ in the particles, instead of stillness.”

Maia felt lost, and he must have let that show on his face, for Clairis looked up from the teacup he'd been nursing. He said,“Magic spells are limited by the caster's conception of the world. The trend is clear once one looks long enough – as soon as a new thing is understood, spells can be built on that understanding. For instance, once Csorevar postulated friction as a function of the two surfaces involved, and accurately described it, Vecran Athmaza was able to devise a spell that removed friction between an object and any surfaces it might hit.”

“Why is that spell not widely used?” Maia asked.

“It's irreversible.” Clairis's lips quirked. “There is one such object in the Athmaz'are. Many Adremazei have offered rewards to the maza who removes the spell. In the meantime, the vase is quite impossible to grip. A hand is a surface, is it not?”

“Do you think that a counter-spell could be devised?” Maia asked.

“Vecran was rather mad, we think.” Clairis used the formal. “She did not actually _write down_ anything but the new spells she'd successfully devised. The more sane experimentalists – such as Drannu – enumerate both the base they build on and all modifications thereon. Much easier to study.”

“Surely the records are not entirely useless?” Maia asked.

Drannu snorted. Clairis twitched his ears. “They do make for a nasty prank,” he said. “The Adremaza has restricted their distribution for a reason.”

“There _is_ a spell for polishing metal that resembles Vecran's spell somewhat, but it is unclear which predates the other,” Drannu said. “It is useful for mirror-making. One of our friends has been trying to devise a similar spell for finishing lenses, for optics of higher angular resolution.”

“Who?” Cala asked.

“Delaina,” Drannu said. “I don't think thou ever befriended him. Short and slight, snub nose, gray eyes.”

“I recall seeing him, but I never did speak to him.” Cala sighed. “The opportunities never seen. Ah well. If thou wouldst talk more of thy studies, Drannu?”

“Why certainly, Cala.” Drannu took a sip of tea, then leaned back in her chair. “Like all great scientific discoveries, it began with an accident. I was figuring out how to induce miscarriage, using mice as my test subjects, when I noticed that Zhuran had played yet another prank on me, and stuck a piece of rabbit fur rubbed with gold onto my table, from which it would be impossible to remove without being painfully shocked. Frustrated by my lack of results as I was, I idly sent a revethmaz its way, and it dropped. Now, when I bent to pick it up, I still got a shock, but I had managed to temporarily suppress the attractive force with the revethmaz, providing me with insight into both the spell and the phenomenon.” Maia was left trying to understand how a revethmaz could ever be cast _idly_.

Drannu continued. “I wrote down my observation, then went to talk to Clairis and asked him to research both the revethmaz and static. I did some further experimenting, and then we approached the University. We have collaborated extensively with Theret Brinthalar, one of the specialists on Daniël-like cells. Theret?”

Brinthalar gulped audibly. “We were pleased to receive any additional insight into the Daniël-like cells. Consensus was that there was some cyclical movement of _something_ , but no-one had much idea, save that a Daniël cell works when there is a zinc rod in a solution of zinc sulfate and a copper rod in a solution of copper sulfate, with the solutions connected via porous barrier – ox gullet, for instance – and the rods connected with an aluminum wire. This results in the erosion of the zinc rod, an accumulation of copper onto the copper rod, and what we call ‘electricity’ happening in the wire, causing statically charged objects in the vicinity to change their path. Daniël-like cells are formed by swapping either the zinc or the copper for another substance, with the rate of erosion depending on the pair of materials. Drannu and Clairis came in, and with extensive experimentation we were able to determine that the erosion and accumulation was due to the movement of electric charge in the wire, with some electronic exchange happening in the solutions involved. We also established that the revethmaz momentarily stops this movement, for as long as it is being cast.” He glanced beseechingly at Drannu. Maia was desperately trying to absorb all of what had been said. He suspected that he'd have to ask for it in writing, should he wish to understand the explanation.

“The discovery of such charged particles was most illuminating. If static charge is caused by particles, what else is? I've been making many experimental spells, trying to see if I could find out anything else that was in reality a particle. I have reasonable evidence for light being a particle-”

“And how didst thou create _that_ spell from the revethmaz?” Cala asked wryly. Beshelar cleared his throat.

Drannu rolled her eyes. “I _do_ know as many spells as thee, fool. Now, from the ceirnemmaz, I thought, if light is a particle, then surely it has an energy of motion. So, I first thought of particles of light where all had the same energy, and received _green_ light. Now, I tried for light of lesser energy, and it shaded through yellow and red into _heat_. With higher energies, it went first aqua, then blue, then violet, then invisible. Now, I asked Theret and Clairis to do some research, and when I heard of the effect of prisms, I wrote a paper on my findings, meticulously describing the workings of magic and how this supported the now-discredited particle theory of light. My paper ignited passionate debate on the true nature of light, with the wave theorists seeking to discredit it and the particle theorists seeking to elevate it to high status.”

“How passionate was the debate?” Maia asked. He had never observed academic discussion, and the thought of people arguing over the nature of light was bizarre.

“Duels were fought.” She brought her cup to her lips and twitched her ears. “None involving us.”

“So, dost thou believe in the particle explanation?” Cala asked.

Drannu knit her brows. “The wave theory is better at explaining light's numerous phenomena, though I asked Clairis to go through the mathematics and apparently light being an oscillating particle would give similar results. I am currently trying to invent an experiment that would disprove one or the other, but I did promise to come up with a spell that induces miscarriage for Neian.”

Maia could _hear_ Beshelar be shocked. “Why would one induce miscarriage?” Maia asked. “Is it for, ah, the benefit of the unwed?”

“Perhaps that, in time. Mostly they use hemlock. No, it is for emergencies,” she said. “Neian told us that occasionally, a fetus will begin to grow outside the womb. Then, time is in the essence, for such a fetus will without exception kill its mother. Currently, hemlock and its ilk make miscarriage typical, but Neian would prefer a quicker spell.”

“You seem to deal a great deal in death,” Maia ventured.

Drannu bared sharp teeth in an imitation of a smile. “We discovered our mazeise talents when we discovered that we could kill nazhcreisei with a suitable thought and movement of hand. Our parents were most happy to send us off to the Athmaz'are.”

“So you are from the steppes to the North?” Maia pressed out. He wanted to redirect the conversation away from dead night-hunting steppe cats and things Beshelar would disapprove of before it had a chance to go onto that track.

“Yes,” Drannu said. “Half barbarian, in fact. The man we used to call our father could only afford to marry a woman who already had a newborn by a barbarian. Our parents and full-elven siblings were overjoyed to see us go.” Longstanding resentment had crept into her voice.

“Not all mazei have such nonstandard origins,” Clairis said. “We were brought up in a perfectly normal, if poor, family in the South. Tragic stories like Drannu's or poor Stirzhan's are the exception. We know not if it is due to tragic stories being rare – the state we hope for – or due to such backgrounds somehow suppressing the mazeise talents some of the time.”

“How is Stirzhan nowadays?” Cala asked. “And all of the other people I knew. I find I miss them.”

“Stirzhan is still an apprentice to Neian, and her child Kiro was recently given for adoption,” Clairis said.

“Mazei can have children?” Maia asked.

“Yes, though they are given for adoption shortly after weaning, so as not to have familial politics intrude on the Athmaz'are,” Clairis said. “The typical mazo has one or two children in her lifetime, though some have none and some have more. Most choose to have one in their twenties, and simply stop casting the contraceptive.”

“Stirzhan was on the older side of initiates when she came in, as well as pregnant. By her father.” Maia and Beshelar were trying hard not to splutter, but Drannu calmly sipped her tea and continued speaking. “Neian is still her old self, though a bit busier since she's taken on most of Kiru's former duties. Luzha is still trying to solve Vecran's Antifriction Vase, Ero and Canet are trying to keep new recruits from accidental self-immolation, Nolis has decided to apprentice with the chief librarian, Visan has swapped her investigations into magically aiding the growth of thyme to magically aiding the growth of rosemary, Peivu is still immensely interested in the optimal teapot, and thou knowest better than me what goes on with D- _Kiru_.”

Cala flinched and Clairis' calm set of face became more forced.

Drannu soldiered on. “I have achieved success in my experiments once more and am thus satisfied. Clairis-”

“-is happy in the company of his colleague, scholar, and scrolls. The access to the University library has been most elucidating.”

“Have I forgotten anyone?” Drannu concluded. Cala shook his head. She sat forward in her chair and leaned her head on her hands. “So, Cala, dost thou _like_ watching His Serenity piss?”

Maia could _hear_ Beshelar begin to come up with a suitably outraged reply, but before he could speak out, Cala rolled his eyes and said, “Watching _him_ hardly seems necessary.”

“Ah, but what if an assassin should come in through the pipes? A dereliction of thy duty, I say!” She grinned, exposing her sharp teeth.

 

Later, after the rest of his appointments, Maia asked Cala whether he should introduce Drannu to Vedero's circle of friends. Maia found the mazo deeply unsettling, but he thought his sister might be interested in the acquaintance of such an accomplished woman.

Beshelar finally exploded. “There is something _deeply wrong_ about _anyone_ who could use a _revethmaz_ so _casually_! She makes _Cala_ , of all people, look like the height of respectful behavior! Why, we-” Beshelar continued ranting along the same lines, but soon wound down.

“Mazei do not face the same, ah, _oppositions_ as other women; dachenmazei care not for the views of the outside world, so Vedero would not gain the experiences and expertise of a peer of similar background.” Cala grew thoughtful. “We would perhaps tell Vedero of Drannu, and let her decide whether she would like such an unsettling personage in her salon.” Cala looked back at Maia. “Nevertheless, we agree with Beshelar's criticism. To our knowledge, she has never harmed another person, unwittingly or intentionally, but her comfort with the revethmaz _is_ something we find deeply alarming.”

Maia thought for a bit, then nodded. “We shall tell Vedero of her. We trust her to make a wise decision, should she have with her all of the facts.”

**Author's Note:**

> Rubber treated with sulfur is vulcanized rubber, Daniël cells are Daniell cells, energy of motion is kinetic energy, and everything else should be under its real-world name.
> 
> I eagerly await your thoughts on the magic stuff I've come up with!


End file.
